Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-01
INSTINCT AND HABIT.
How the Instincts of Childhood Become
the Icon- Bound Habits of Old Age.

NJ given close STUDY 10 THIS faculty IN us
various forms as it appears in man and
beast. After defining the word for the
purpose of his discussion and showing
that the faculty is present in all living be-
iDgs, he arrives at q conclusion different
from the Older writers on the subject, who
smOthered everything in 8 vague wonder
al the clairvoyant and prophetic power of
the enjmals-so superior to anything in
msn-and at the benehcence of God in
endowing them with such 8 gift. He
concludes that every instinct is an i'm
pulse, and that man has g greater variety
of impulses than any lower animal, and
any one of these impulses is as "blind"
as the lowest instinct that can be; but
owing to mans memory, power of refiec-
ton and power of inference they come
each one to be felt by him il connection
with foresight of their results. 1t is
obvious that every instinct in an ami
NAL with memory must be accompa-
MED with foresight as to its end just so
far as that end may have fallen under the
animals cognizance. Thus it is plain
that no matter how well endowed an ami
nal may originally be in the matter Of
instincts his actions will be much modi-
fed if in addition to implies, he have men,
Ories, associations and differences on any
considerable scale.
EARLY INSTINCTS IN ANIMALS.
"YOuDg animals," says the writer,
<'immediately after birth have no instinct
Of fear, but show their dependence by al
lowing themselves TO be freely handled
Later, however, they grow wild and if
left to themselves, will not let man ap-
prOach them. I am told by-farmers in the
Adirondack wilderness that it is q very
serious matter if q cow wanders OF and
calves in the woods and is not found for
week or more. The calf, by that time,
is as wild ard almost as feet as deer
and hard to capture without violence
But calves rarely show any particular
wildneSs to the men who have been in
contact with them during the first days of
their life, when the instinct to attach
themselves is uppermOst, nor do they
dread strangers as they would If brought
up wild"
HOW INSTINCTS BECOME HABITS.
This leads TO the law Of transformers,
which is this: That many instincts ripen
at a certain 6ge and then fade away. A
consequence of this law is that if, during
the time Of such an Instincts VivaCity,
objects adequate to arouse it are met
with, habit of acting on them is frOmed,
stinCt has passed away; but that if no
such objects are met with, then no habit
viii be formed; apd, later Gu in life,
when the animal meets the objects he
will altogether fail to react, as at the
ealliest epoch he would instinctivelV have
done. No doubt such a law is restricted.
Some instincts are far less transient than
Others-thOse connected with feeding
and "seIf-preservation" may hardly be
transient a. all, and some, after fading
out for time, recur as strong as ever, Z.
e, the instincts Of pairing and rearing
young. The author cites as an example
Of the habit of acting On instiCt Scotch
terrier, born CD the floor of 8 stable ami
transferred six weeks later to q carpeted
house.
When he was four months old he would
make a very elaborate pretense Of bury
ing things, such as gloves, etc, which he
had played with till he was tired. He
scratched the carpet with his fOre-feet,
dropped the object from his mouth
upon the spot, and then scratched all
about it with both fore and hind feet, if
I remember rightly, and finally went
away and let it lie OF course, the act
vas entirely useless. ] ssw him perform
d dt that age, some for or five times, and
never again in his line. The conditions
were not present to fix q habit which could
last when the prompting instinct died
away. But suppose meat instead of g
glove, earth instead of a carpet, hunger
paugs instead OF q fresh supper q few
hours later, and It is easy to see how this
dog might have got into habit of bury
ing superfuous food, which might have
lasted all his life.
FORMING 4 MANS uARTTS
This peculiarly is still more noticeable
in human beings:
II a boy grows up alone at the age of
games and sports, and learns neither to
play bali, nor row, nor sail, nor ride nor
skate, nor fish, nor shoot. probably he
will be sedentsry to the end of his days;
and, though the best of opportunities be
afforded him Tor clearinghouse things
later, it IS g bundled to one but he Will
pass them by and shrink pack from the
effort of taking those necessary
first steps, the prospect of which, at
an earlier age; would have filed
him with eager delight. The sexual pas
sion expires after q prOtrsCted reign, but
II is We'll known that It's peculiar mani
festatiOns in a given individual depend
almost entirely on the habits he may for n
during the early period its activity. EX-
pOsure TO bad company then makes him q
loose liver all his days; chastity kept at
first makes the same easy later on. In all
pedagogy the great thing is to strike the
iron while hot, and to seize the wave of
the pupils interest in each successive
subject before its ebb has come, so that
knowledge may be got and q habit of
skill scquired-a Roadway of interest,
in short, secured, on which afterward
40
happy moment for fixing skill in drawing.
for making boys collectors in natural his
tory, and presently dissectors and botan-
lists; then for initiating them into the
harmonics of mechanics and the wonders
Of physical and chemical law, and so on.
In each of US a satUcatiOn point is soon
reached in all these things; the impetus
of cur purely intellectual zeal expires,
and, unless the topic be enc associated
with some urgent personal need that
keeps cur wits constantly Whetted about
II, We settle into an equilibrium, and live
on what We learned when our interest
was fresh ard instructive without adding
to the store.
WHY AN OH DOG CANNOT LEARN NEW
TRICKS.
1t Is for this reason taRt, outside of
their own business, the ideas gained by
men before tEey are TWENTY-FIVE are
practically the Ouly ideas they have in
their lives. They cannot get anything
new. DIsinterested curiosity is past, the
mental grooves and channels set. the
power Of assimilation gone. Il by chance
we ever do learn anything about some
entirely new topic we are an eted by a !
strange sense OF insecurity, and We fear
to advance q resoluta opinion. But with
things learned ia the plastic days OF in :